‘Community’ Season 4, Episode 4 Recap

I’ve returned from Arizona and our Community recaps are back on schedule. I apologize for missing last week’s, but I caught up on the episode and, um, it’s not like I missed much. That was a genuinely terrible episode, right? I didn’t laugh once. Moving on, I guess…

This season of Community is as divisive as ever. My timeline consists of either people loving or hating it and I find this fascinating because I want to know what some fans are loving (and why they aren’t noticing the stark differences) and why some are not enjoying it and why it’s so hard for them to move past the differences.

I’m not here to address the differences because there are other recaps to do that for you and for me. I’m still enjoying this season (except for last week’s episode because my God…) but yes it does feel different. Even Donald Glover looks different. It doesn’t feel the same, no, but it’s not an entirely new show. It’s all still there, but something is missing. I just can’t put my finger on it because all the plots and all the lines feel like Community, but they’re not hitting like Community. That Burn Notice line? Hilarious but it felt forced in the way of wanting to be cool and referencing but accessible?

The episode was entertaining but it just didn’t hit and the last one didn’t hit and the one before it and the premiere. We’re four episodes in…even if one or two of them are good, something is missing… Community, for me, has always been an “entertaining” show and then the comedy came second. As I’ve said before, I never thought this show was hilarious and while it has it’s moments, it doesn’t make me laugh like Parks & Recreation, Happy Endings or New Girl does. I’ve always thought that the comedy always came second to the intense plot that was delivered with each episode. Now that the plots have become a bit…simpler?… the comedy still seems to come second, and that isn’t working. With that said, everything Dean related is always and will always be hilarious. That has not changed.

Maybe these episodes are typical Community and because we know something IS missing (Harmon) we’re pointing to that for the blame? Either way, I find the kind of discussion this season is creating at this very second will be fascinating in a few years when we look back. Was it really all that “bad”?